Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

283 reviews

flygon's review against another edition

Hated the writing style - constant run-on sentences that dragged on and just made everything too confusing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Gore, Murder, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual content

emmajewish's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I couldn't really form an attachment to the characters, and the audiobook got me all sorts of turned around with who's who! The ending was drawn out but also maintained tension...which I admire in a confused way.

On the surface, it's a lesson in why family annihilation is ALWAYS a bad idea - regardless of species. But there's deep folklore and Native American heritage that is worthwhile in this book. If I pick it up again, it will be a physical copy, though! I think some of the POV is lost in narration.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Animal death, Blood, and Suicide

Minor: Racism

spinebreakr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was enthralled with this right up until

elk head woman transformed into a human.

which unfortunately is pretty early on in the book. 
The writing was tense and emotional. You could really feel the weight of generational trauma resting on the shoulders of the main characters. The way it informs all their actions is raw and drawn from a very real place. The character work is super well done. But ultimately, the monster in the story is not nearly so scary as what the men do to the ones they love. 

Once we started getting chapters from the perspective of the monster, I had such a hard time being scared of her. I came to this book expecting horror and I just wasn't gripped at any point. The gore was pretty visceral at times. Very graphic, and overdone in some spots. For example

Scalping Shaney with a motorcycle??

Yeah it was horrific, but also so wildly over the top, it immediately pulled me out of the story. 

Overall, I feel like it started off strong but lost direction a little as it went. 
I still recommend. But only If when you read this book you treat it like a Halloween-esque slasher film. Do that and you'll have a great time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Gore, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Body horror, Animal death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Grief, Hate crime, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

pipettesandpages's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Body horror, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, Suicide, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Alcohol, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Murder

Minor: Drug use

punkrockingnerd's review

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This one will probably require a re-read. The switching between 2nd and 3rd person narration was really jarring for me, but I really enjoyed the story! I think it could've been written more cohesively, but maybe I'll enjoy it on a second go?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Gore, and Body horror

insideunder's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Stalking, Body horror, Violence, Animal death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gore

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Genocide, and Alcoholism

wannah_hallace's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The writing style was unique and made me slow down to absorb what I was reading. I really like how the story developed and couldn't put it down during the tense scenes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Body horror, Animal death, Violence, Murder, and Suicide

kkalicky94's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Animal death, and Death

zoebaillie's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had hoped for more atmospheric spookiness, but found most of the horror was more gore than spook. What it lacked in atmosphere it made up for in very, very detailed accounts basketball and motorcycle repair (both of which are central to the gore at times).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Abortion, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Animal death, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Hate crime, Car accident, Colonisation, and Police brutality

zoelowe's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A beautifully written story about how guilt can manifest into horrible actions. The haunting dive into the human psyche was emphasized by the haunting that was happening to these characters. It was a book I could not put down and I continue to think about every day since finishing it. I need everyone to read it so I can have other people to talk about it with. Gory and disgusting and heart wrenching and I loved every second. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Alcoholism